You Are Heroic with Brian Johnson

Latest Episodes:

PNTV: Spartan Fit! by Joe De Sena with John Durant Aug 12, 2016

Show notes

Joe De Sena is the founder of the Spartan Race. He's also, as Angela Duckworth, author of Grit, tells us: "a paragon of grit" who "shows you how you're capable of so much more than you think." A paragon of grit. That's the perfect description. After inspiring us with stories of real-life heroes and ancient Spartan lore, De Sena walks us through the seven pillars of Spartan training + a 30-day plan to get Spartan Fit. Big Ideas we explore include getting to the starting line, developing obstacle immunity, making thousands of small decisions and your gritty oath.

Micro Class: Industrialized Food Aug 11, 2016

Show notes

Want to know what happens when we industrialized our food. Here are 5 key things to keep in mind.

PNTV: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan Aug 10, 2016

Show notes

Michael Pollan is one of the world's leading thinkers on nutrition. Time magazine voted him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He's also a Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley. One of the things I most love about him and his work is that, as a journalist, he takes a much wider, more objective view of the nutritional landscape—which can often be dominated by (and muddled by) individuals with *very* strong, dogmatic, inflexible ideologies. Big Ideas we explore: Nutritionism (vs. food), the big experiment (that failed), the Aborigine in all of us, the 5 fundamental transformations of industrializing food and Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puff and Trix cereals as health foods as per the American Heart Association. (

Micro Class: Work = Time x Intensity Aug 09, 2016

Show notes

There's REAL work and then there's pseudo-work. It's all about intensity. Remember: Work = Time x Intensity.

PNTV: The Happiness Diet by Tyler Graham and Drew Ramsey, MD Aug 08, 2016

Show notes

What if happiness began at the end of your fork? The latest research on neuroscience and nutrition tells us that's a VERY wise place to start. And, of course, that's what this book is all about: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body. It's a really well-written, eye-opening look at how we got into the nutritional mess we're in and the extremely damaging effects of the modern American diet. And, of course, more importantly, how we can optimize our nutrition so we can dial in the three facets of happiness: our focus, our mood, and our energy.

Conquering Perfectionism 101: How to Quit Being a Perfectionist and Start Being an Incremental Optimizer (Intro) Aug 07, 2016

Show notes

High standards are great. Perfectionism? Not so much. In this class, we'll take a look at why it's so important to embrace the constraints of reality as we have fun incrementally optimizing–aggregating and compounding tiny improvements over time to create magic!

Micro Class: Good Fats. Bad Fats. Aug 06, 2016

Show notes

Fats. They are not created equal. Here's a quick look at the good, the bad, and the truly evil.

Micro Class: Learning: Enemy #1 Aug 05, 2016

Show notes

Want to know learning's enemy #1? Here it is: the fluency illusion. And, here's how to beat it!

Micro Class: Conquer Cravings Aug 03, 2016

Show notes

Did you know fast-acting carbs light up the addiction center (called the nucleus accumbens) of your brain? Yep. Here's a quick look at some fascinating reseaarch on this and a tip on how to conquer your cravings.

Interview: Sitting Kills, Moving Heals with Joan Vernikos Aug 02, 2016

Show notes

Joan Vernikos was the former Director of NASA's Life Sciences Division. Basically, she was responsible for understanding how to optimize the health and well-being of our astronauts. In this book, she walks us through how our sedentary lifestyles are surprisingly similar to the gravity-free lifestyles of astronauts in space. Just as an astronaut's health rapidly deteriorates outside of gravity's pull, OUR health erodes when we adopt a sedentary lifestyle. Big Ideas we cover include Gravity 101, why gravity is so N.E.A.T., how to build G-Habits and why your telomeres don't like you sitting so much.